Sep 17 2010
Proactive Packaging & Display, Inc., of Ontario, Calif., has introduced “5 Key Elements In Sustainable Packaging Production—Materials, Inks, Coatings, Curing and Assembly” as the core concept underlying its S.P.A.C.E. (Sustainable Packaging Accentuates Clean Environments) program that provides customers with a wide range of options for greener packaging.
Proactive is in attendance here at the Sustainable Packaging Forum 2010 held at the Arizona Grand Resort. The Forum is focused on the latest sustainable packaging practices and initiatives, business strategies and technologies from across the globe that support company growth while meeting today’s sustainability challenges.
Proactive Packaging’s “5 Key Elements In Sustainable Packaging Production—Materials, Inks, Coatings, Curing and Assembly” are what differentiate the company from other manufacturers. A leader in high-quality color graphic cartons and folding boxes, the company uses an integrated production process designed to save customers money while providing eye-popping color in a sturdy and lighter basis-weight format that is 100 percent sustainable. Proactive’s S.P.A.C.E. program is centered in operations at Proactive Northern Container (PNC) based in Stockton, Calif. Combined, the company’s Ontario and Stockton plants total more than 550,000 sq. ft. in size.
“Environmentally friendly packaging meets the demands from packaged goods manufacturers, retailers and consumers for products that are functional without leaving harmful, long lasting effects on the environment,” said Gary Hartog, Proactive’s CEO. “Sustainability involves the entire supply chain, but what sets Proactive apart from everyone else is our formula for sustainability success in packaging—we deliver to our customers a one hundred percent sustainable package at a competitive price with favorable shipping rates.”
Drent Goebel Web Offset and EB Curing Set Proactive Apart
According to Hartog, Proactive’s key competitive advantage is based on the company’s state-of-the-art packaging and printing technology, in particular its Drent Goebel VSOP variable sleeve web-offset press with an Energy Sciences inline electron beam (EB) curing station that does not use heat or light to cure coatings.. EB curing is the only FDA-compliant coating process for indirect food contact applications. The Drent Goebel specialized EB curing system for inks and coatings uses far less power and emits far fewer greenhouse gases (GHGs) than conventional offset presses. Since it operates at room temperature and since EB inks, coatings and adhesives are 100 percent solids, there are no emissions, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or other air pollutants produced.
Other environmentally sensitive PNC technology includes a Bobst Microgator corrugator (manufactures corrugated fiberboard for boxes) with a cold-set Asitrade section, and a Bobst Alpina cold-set folder/gluer.
Hartog explained that sustainable packaging begins with good design, which makes a package lighter in weight, structurally sound, optimally machine-ready and efficient, with uncompromised product protection.
“Successful sustainability requires starting with an informed understanding on the part of the designer about the source, use and eventual disposal of packaging materials,” Hartog said. “Incorporating more sustainable design at the beginning of package development creates the opportunity to determine ways to reduce resource consumption and environmental impact.”
Materials
The physical requirements in making packaging sustainable necessitate the use of biodegradable and recyclable source materials with low fiber content. Paper-based corrugated fiberboard, which consists of a fluted corrugated sheet and one or two flat linerboards, is widely used in the manufacture of corrugated boxes and shipping containers and is 100 percent recyclable.
Equally important to eco-friendliness is the minimal use of materials through reduced packaging and layers of packaging. Using fewer materials with less weight means that the cost of transporting the packages will be reduced and less waste will be created.
Eco-Board™ is Proactive's brand of lighter, low-fiber linerboard. It maintains higher top-to-bottom box compression strength and, in many instances, replaces standard doublewall corrugated fiberboard structures (formed by gluing sheets of fluted corrugating medium to two flat facings of linerboard).
Eco-Lith™ is Proactive’s branded guarantee that the materials used in boxes it produces are beneficial to the environment while still delivering best-of-class print quality.
Inks
Proactive uses organic, water-soluble, eco-friendly inks that are compound-free and create no VOCs in the printing process. Because these inks are not heat-set into the paper, the paper product itself is easier to recycle. VOC-free inks from INX International Ink Co. help produce a box that is environmentally friendly.
Coatings
Proactive’s coatings used to seal and protect packaging are based on benign chemistry to ensure environmental and regulatory compliance. Proactive formulates environmentally friendly coatings that replace solvent-based coatings, reduce VOCs and hazardous air pollutants (HAPS), improve the air quality in its plants and significantly reduce waste. Reduction of VOCs and waste are the foundation of sustainability in packaging, and coatings that cure at lower temperatures also save on natural gas and electricity consumption.
Curing
Proactive cures (toughens, hardens and fixes) inks and coatings to substrate packaging surface using instantaneous EB radiation, the only FDA compliant process for indirect food contact. Proactive's Drent Goebel VSOP variable-sleeve offset press uses roll-to-roll printing that enables it to run at high production speeds—1,200 fpm—which lowers production costs, while the quick set-up via sleeve technology also reduces production time—both leading indicators for environmental sensitivity. The specialized EB system for curing inks and coatings does not require light or heat, uses far less power and emits fewer GHGs than possible with conventional offset presses. The system operates at room temperature and, since EB inks, coatings and adhesives are 100 percent solids, there are no emissions, odors, VOCs or other air pollutants produced. Web offset was the first printing technology to adopt EB-curing.
Assembly
Gluing is a very important process in the converting of coated paperboard packaging products. In contrast to hot melt glues, aqueous adhesives (cold-set glues) are applied to one of the surfaces to be glued, and then they are held under compression while the water is absorbed and the bond develops. In the cold-set process, forming and bonding operations are accomplished at room temperature; with little or no heating of paper components and adhesive that can produce VOCs.